Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Sigh. Zian had already reminded Vladimir earlier not to stare at two or three sheep while shearing them, but it had gone in one ear and out the other. Its habit of using famous quotes was really hard to change.
Zhang Zian resigned. He didn’t rush over to say hello to Little Celery. Instead, he first corrected Vladimir. “You shouldn’t just use quote famous quotes, as they lack flexibility. She’s not even that old and is, at most, like the sun at six or seven o’clock in the morning…”
Vladimir listened to Zian’s advice and nodded. “Six or seven o’clock is good too.”
“Also, what’s the meaning of the Meow Meow Doctrine?” Zian asked. He had heard Vladimir shout the name of its move earlier and somehow felt his chrysanthemum tighten…
Vladimir gave it some thought then explained, “That is a good question… In short, it fights for the freedom, equality, and fairness of stray cats. Its goal is also to free stray cats from being bullied and oppressed so that they can decide on their own destiny!”
“Okay then…” Its answer was acceptable, so Zhang Zian wisely decided not to delve into it. Who knew if he might get an inappropriate answer if he continued on the subject…
Little Celery was used to Zhang Zian conversing with animals, although his partner that day was a blue cat that looked very spirited. She had never seen it in the store before.
As the weather turned warm, Little Celery was not wearing clothes as thick as the ones she wore during the early spring. They were replaced with loose-fitting sportswear that were easy to move in. Her clothes were a half a size bigger than her actual size––after all, children grew up fast and clothes that fit couldn’t be worn for long. Her mother was definitely a pragmatist.
In addition, she finally did not need to wear thick hats and scarves, so her iconic pigtails were fully exposed now.
Zhang Zian noticed the direction of her pigtails, then recalled that it was definitely the weekend. Ever since he had taken over the pet shop, he had almost lost the concept of time; however, Little Celery’s pigtails were as accurate as ever.
“Little Celery, it’s the weekend. Why are you here so early on a weekend? Didn’t you want to sleep in?” he asked.
Little Celery looked around and exclaimed, “Wow, there’s a lot of people!”
Usually during the early morning, the store was as empty as ever––but wasn’t Dog Warrior showing? Many local fans who watched the premiere rushed over early in the morning to find Famous so they could get a photo together; however, the shop was not fully prepared for opening, so they were stopped outside by the staff.
There were so many fans lined up outside, and Famous wasn’t willing to make the floor dirty with everyone coming in after the staff had cleaned up the place. If all the fans were to be let in, they would interfere with the business, so Famous went outside the shop and satisfied the fans request for photos out there.
Little Celery only remembered after being asked by Zhang Zian that there was a reason she had stopped by. She quickly said, “I don’t have class today, but the hamster in our class is going to give birth soon. My classmates told me to ask you if you could come over to help. Do you have the time?”
Little Celery and her friends had been very serious about raising the hamster; they had formed a feeding plan where daily records were taken by the person on duty each day. Through their care, the hamsters grew well, and several female hamsters had gotten pregnant. Now, despite Zhang Zian’s long-term guidance, they had no confidence in handling the childbirth process, so they had Little Celery ask Zhang Zian to come and guide them through the process.
Zhang Zian looked at his schedule, and that day he was as free as usual. If he stayed in the store, he would probably be dragged around by the fans and media then forced to answer their questions, so it was better to just head out for a walk.
What was more, the Zhonghua Road Primary School where Little Celery studied was very close to the shop; it was just minutes away.
“Sure! No problem,” Zhang Zian said. “I’ll take a trip down with you.”
“Thank you, Brother Shop Manager!” Little Celery finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Little Celery, have you eaten?” asked Zian as he touched his own empty belly.
“I have!”
“Then you can play in the shop for a while. We’ll leave after I have breakfast.”
“Okay!” Little Celery ran into the store cheerfully.
Vladimir, who had been sitting by the side watching and listening, suddenly said, “Can I come along too? I’m new here in Binhai City, so I need to familiarize myself with the nearby terrain and environment. After all, I’ve got no right to speak without any investigation.”
“Sure.” Zhang Zian agreed with what it said. He felt that there was nothing wrong with bringing it along.
Zian bought some steamed buns and soy milk, split them between the staff members, and finished his own portion. He then called Little Celery over and left the shop with her.
“Oh… Is this cat coming along with us?” Little Celery asked. She had taken a few steps forward before she turned around and noticed Vladimir tagging along.
Zhang Zian guessed her concerns. “Well, don’t worry. It won’t hurt the hamsters.”
“That’s good then.” Little Celery finally rested assured.
The current weather was mild and suitable for walking––possibly the best weather for walking in the whole year. Many couples and families were out and about, taking advantage of the good weather. Even Otakus that never left their house were not able to stop themselves from going out for a walk. If they didn’t, they would have been wasting such good weather.
On the way down to the school, Little Celery told Zhang Zian about the small problems they had encountered while raising the hamsters, and the interesting things that happened in school. Vladimir followed behind them and observed the unfamiliar city.
Binhai City and the capital were two cities with very different styles. Even if the scale and population of both cities were not taken into consideration, the obvious differences could be seen from their rhythm of life. Due to the limited amount of pressure they placed on life, the residents in Binhai were accustomed a slow and leisurely pace of life.
Occasionally, there would be one or two stray cats on the side of the road or on the wall, and after seeing Vladimir, they didn’t have any special reaction. Whether they were fighting or eating food from people’s hands, they were no different than usual. They seemed to treat Vladimir as any other ordinary cat, which was very different from their behavior when they saw Fina.
Vladimir was walking leisurely. It would sometimes mumble something and sometimes nod, but Zhang Zian did not know what was going on in its head.
Zhang Zian casually spoke with Little Celery, and periodically he would look back at it. He thought that after leaving the pet shop, Vladimir would be very eager to look around for the Holy Cat statue, however the reality was much different from his own imagination.
Before it could deal with the Holy Cat statue, it had to be located first. The Holy Cat statue was really elusive, and if it were that easy to find, then Zian would have already found it.
Zian was very curious about how Vladimir planned to find the Holy Cat statue in the first place.
Vladimir felt his gaze and smiled back at him with a meaningful smile. The smile was full of self-confidence and it said, “No hurry! No hurry! In any practical work, all the correct leads must come from the puss and blend with the puss!”
Zhang Zian paused. Fortunately, it didn’t say into the… puss.
They arrived at the entrance of Zhonghua Road Primary School, and Zhang Zian didn’t bother with the Holy Cat statue for the time being. He followed Little Celery into the campus and towards the hamsters.